Newbie with some questions

[Exley]

Hello. I have been reading here on and off for a long time as well as doing research. This spring I would really like to get my cars paint back in shape! I would like to clay bar, polish and then put a nice durable wax or sealant on.



Polishing scares me the most, I am really concerned about burning through my clear or leaving buffer trails or marks. I know the car was ‘buffed’ before I bought it because the dealer did not tape off the car properly, and there is still residue from their compound that I have not been able to reach with normal washing.



I’ve looked into dual action polishers and saw that Harbor Freight has one that is very affordable. I would really only be doing my own car so affordable is nice, but if this is not good for a beginner I would go with something else.



As far as the paint goes, I’m not looking for 100% show car perfection. The car is my daily driver, so it gets its share of normal wear and tear. I’m a little overwhelmed by all of the pad and product combos. It would be nice if I could do it in a single step. I have seen products that become less aggressive as you work with them, but I wasn’t sure if that was the best option.



Also one of the previous owner had decals on the rear bumper. They are gone, but I can see an imprint of where the paint oxidation is different and some scratches where the next owner or dealer removed them. I would be great to get rid of this. I can provide pictures later, I know that will help.



The car is a 2007 Redfire Metallic Mustang GT. I’ll try and reply to this post with pictures when I can, but the car is dirty right now.



Thanks in advance for your help, any advice is appreciated.

[mackey]

AFAIK the harbor freight one is good to go if you replace the counterweight included with it. get it with the 20% HF coupon and youre golden



*edit i meant to say backing plate*

[Dan]

You could share you location info and hope that someone around you will let you swing by to get some paint readings before you get too aggressive.



There are a ton of pads, especially from certain vendors. 3D and Megs both have pretty simple systems. A single diminishing abrasive polish is going to be harder for a newbie to manage than two different polishes. I`d recommend UNO and Polish and the respective pads or Megs UC and UP and their pads.



Most important, do a test spot, a 2x2 or smaller area and make sure your plan is going to work. So many people get all excited, spend all weekend on a car and don`t get the results they expect, don`t be that guy.

[DaC]

Well, first of all buy small bottles of products. I`d stick with a costumer grade polishes.

Meguiars ultimate compound and ultimate polish are a nice combo.

Then get 2 tangerine pads and use it with the ultimate compound. Get 2 crimson pad and use with ultimate polish.

Get a pad cleaning brush and clean your pads on the fly after each panel.

After decon with a claybar, do:



6 passes with medium pressure with the UC and 4 passes with light pressure with the UP.

Buy some snappy clean also, to wash your pads after using them.



this combo is pretty straight forward and will work great unless your paint is too soft or too hard.



Meguiars D151, is another great option if you want a single step. Use it with a crimson or tangerine pad and you should be fine.



Either choice, top it with collinite #845 and you`re good to go.

[Ron Ketcham]

One addition to some great advice already given. If you get the HF dual action, be sure and source 6" pads, as they will fit the backing plate, the smaller ones are just that, too small for the plate.

The HF tool is great for novices and pro`s alike, and the price is really great.

[Shane.belzers]

What counter weight are you putting in the HF polisher?

[Ron Ketcham]

I am not, haven`t seen a need for it. I use DA`s mainly for finishing after use of a rotary. However, many are not trained or experienced with a rotary, so they have to work the DA a bit longer with various pads to do the job.

[Accumulator]

What counter weight are you putting in the HF polisher?

Is there any genuine, functional reason to change it, or to even give it any thought?



I ask because I run my PCs with whichever weight happens to be on `em (at present both are using the one for 6" pads) no matter what size plate/pads I`m using, from 3" to 6.5".



I figure that the counterweight on the PC is based on the *sanding* application, and that a polishing setup (foam/wool/MF pads wet with polishing product) is much heavier than a plate with a single sheet of sandpaper anyhow.



Some people have even claimed that they can`t tell any difference between the two PC weights. I do notice a diff, but like using the bigger weight all the time.

[Ron Ketcham]

Makes perfect sense to me!

[pwaug]

My GG6 has the original couter weight installed. I use it with 5.5" and 4" pads (corresponding bp) and can feel no difference than with the 6" pads and bp.

[Accumulator]

My GG6 has the original couter weight installed..

I`ve used mine with all sizes of pads (and some brushes) too, no problems related to the weight.



I wonder if there`s even a choice for that machine? As you can tell, I`ve never even taken a good look at the GG 6" counterweight since, again, I don`t go smaller on them.

[Exley]

Ok I’m thinking about going with HD UNO and HD Polish. If I am going to be ordering it would make sense to order the HD pads as well. Would orange and blue be good? Too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? Should I really get two of each? Again I know it is hard without pictures, but I am going to wait until I wash and clay to get them.



Also I was thinking of following up with HD Poxy. Should I use an applicator (red) pad for this?



I understand that for the harbor freight DA I will need to replace the backing plate.



Oh and can someone link me to the brush for cleaning the pads on the fly?

[pwaug]

AFAIK the harbor freight one is good to go if you replace the counterweight included with it. get it with the 20% HF coupon and youre golden

Never heard of this with the HF polisher and there are some top pros on this site using this unit.

[pwaug]

Autoality.com has a 5" backing plate that fits HD and Buff & Shine pads perfectly--it`s on the B&S page near the bottom right. They also carry a pad cleaning brush or you can use a Denture Brush from the Dollar Store.



IMO you`ll need at least 4 of each color pad even if you`re cleaning on the fly except the red for applying LSPs--just one red per LSP you`re going to use.



On my wife`s 97 Escort I used orange and green, but the paint was very hard. Perhaps someone with late model Ford experience will chime in--you can also look through the Click and Brags and perhaps find some info. Pictures would help--try to get some showing the swirls and RIDS.

[Exley]

I took some videos of the swirl marks. This is what is on most of the car. I couldn`t take a video of the heavier stuff on the bumper because it was dirty from driving in the rain yesterday. I will follow up.



https://www.dropbox.com/s/g07fz45o39...%2050%20AM.mov



https://www.dropbox.com/s/1i3it67i4t...%2036%20AM.mov